Psigame
by Valeria Kementari
Summary: Witness the infamous Six Month Gap before XMen Revolution! At last, marvel at the JeanBetsy power swap, the dissapearence of Marrow and more! New Chapter! Storm rescues Sage! X-Men vs X-Men! The HC makes their move!
1. Prologue

Psigame

Author's Note: This story continues right after Uncanny X-Men 380.

Prologue 

Funny how time flies. A few weeks passed by and they did not even notice it. How could they, when their utmost thought was each other? When their biggest worry was if the rain might spoil their fun? When they no longer needed to care about a world that hates and fears them? For millionaire playboy Warren Worthington III and his young lover, Elisabeth Braddock, losing their mutant powers gave them their heart's desire; to be normal, to be just like everybody else. Due to the manipulations of a madman, the entire mutant population of Earth had lost their abilities, the one thing that set them apart from society. For some of them it was agony, especially for mutants who possessed elemental powers, connected to Mother Earth. For most, such as the deformed and strange looking mutants, it was a wish come true.

Once, Warren Worthington III was Archangel, a mutant with a pair of gigantic angelic wings, hollow bones and blue skin, who could soar the skies and fight crime. Elisabeth Braddock was a telepath, but she had been unable to use those powers of late, for she had imprisoned a deadly body less telepath known as the Shadow King within her own mind. Together they were part of a group of mutants called the X-Men, sworn to protect those who hated and feared them. That did not matter anymore. They had those powers no more, they had those worries no more, and they were mutants no more. The sun beat relentlessly down upon the hot sand. The wind was strong, casting waves upon the beach, attacking it repeatedly. The water was hot and clean, perfect for fun. It was a perfect day in Aruba.

Betsy started it. As her beau calmly enjoyed the surf, allowing the currents to sway his tanned body, she used the opportunity to splash his face full of salty water. His pride demanded retribution. Smiling, Warren Worthington III filled his hands with water and threw it at his laughing girlfriend. His mind could not remember a happier time. These last few weeks, without his wings, without his mutant powers, had been the happiest of his entire life. He should have known it was not meant to last. Betsy fell backwards as the water hit her, and she did not move anymore.

"Betts?" he asked without a response. "You know that trick is older than both of us... you're not gonna lure me by playing possum..." she did not answer his taunt. He moved towards her slowly, denying that little feeling of worry in his heart. He had thrown water at her. No one dies from having water thrown at her. As he came closer his worries increased, but he remained cool. "It's not working... I can see you twitching... and you call yourself a ninja?" he laughed, a nervous laugh that disappeared as soon as he saw her face. "Bet-- What-- what's wrong?" he screamed while moving faster. He picked her up in his arms, but she did not move. He could feel her as rigid as a steel girder beneath his fingers, her eyes wide open staring up, an expression of terror on her face. He could not believe this was happening. He turned around, looking for help, for familiar faces, but most people were far away. He began to run towards the beach. How could the water hurt her so? He felt a searing pain in his back, and all his questions found their answers suddenly. "Uh... no... Not now," he said as he fell to his knees; his back felt on fire, the pain increasing exponentially.

"Mommy look!" Cried a small child, pointing as Warren kept trying to walk forward, carrying Betsy in his arms. "He's turning all blue!" People stared at him, he could hear their derogative banter, the talk of mutants in their midst. Nevertheless, he did not care. The pain would not stop him. He reached the beach and then fell to his knees once again, but he could not stand up this time. He screamed a cry of pain and terror, high-pitched enough to make everyone cover their ears as it happened. Two massive wings erupted from his shoulder blades, and people began to run and scream in panic. The wings gently moved downwards, enveloping their master, almost caressing him. He opened his eyes. The pain was gone, the fear was gone, and he felt as if everything was right in the world, realizing how he had missed his wings, his bird-like sense. He looked at the girl in his arms. Betsy was still unconscious, almost dead like. He stretched his wings and stood up. "Don't worry. I will bring you back," he said, kissing her forehead. His wings flapped and he began to levitate and he could hear the voice of a child, pointing at him once more. "Oohh... it wasn't a mutie dad... it was an angel!"

Chapter One


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

It felt like a crash, like a dam rupturing and millions of gallons of water pouring through it. It was chaos at its best, and Jean Grey held her own against the tide. Suddenly, inexplicably, her mutant powers returned, and with them pain arrived. Her telepathy turned on first, and she could feel thousands of thoughts flooding into her mind. She could hear her parents worry; she could feel a child crying on the other side of the city; she could feel everyone and everything. She clutched the sides of her head and managed to say two words. "Get out."  
John Grey did not hesitate, did not argue. He was not certain if his daughter was controlling his mind or if he was acting of his own accord. He grabbed his wife's hand and ran towards the door.  
Jean could feel the slow return of her telekinetic abilities. It felt like someone was shoving a brick through her skull. Her powers erupted like a volcano, telekinetic energy pouring from her in all directions, uncontrollably. She screamed, not out of pain but from despair, a cry for help, a cry to her friends.

The skies slowly cleared as the clouds parted. Gently she smiled, opening her eyes. She was happy at last. Her connection to the world fully restored.  
"That was a close one," said the man sitting next to her, his hands clutching the ship's controls.  
"Yes Logan, but luckily I was able to regain control. It was not easy to do so," spoke Ororo Munroe, grabbing the controls and relieving his friend from pilot duty.  
"I knew you'd do it in the end 'roro, few have your strength of mind... if only Popsicle could manage it too I would not be freezing my behind," he said pointing his head backwards.  
"I trust Robert to regain control of his abilities like the rest of us have. This cold will pass," she said, fixing her eyes on the skies.  
"Easy for you to say... you're not suffering it," said a young girl walking closer. "How long till we reach home?"  
"We're not going home, Kitten," answered Storm, leader of the X-Men. "We're going to see Moira. Our powers have returned, but most of us have suffered to control them. We need to find out if there have been any more changes. Henry's--" But she was suddenly silenced as a fourth figure approached the cabin.  
"Someone said my name?" the bouncing blue furred Beast asked as he arrived on his inimitable style, jumping from the ceiling of the hall into the cockpit. "The situation is under control, Bobby was able to turn back," he said smiling.  
"At last. It was so freaking cold my butt was getting numb," said Logan, leaning back on his seat.  
It was then when they felt a cry of utmost distress, of pain, of chaos. Storm released the controls, closing her eyes and grabbing the sides of her head, as Logan imitated her. The ship began to descend rather abruptly. Shadowcat opened her eyes first, seeing her friends in pain. With a mere thought, she became intangible, phasing her body through the seat and her friend, clutching the controls and stabilizing the ship. The psychic attack had passed. Slowly they all regained their senses.  
"I got it princess... let go," said Logan, grabbing his controls and seeing Kitty move backwards.  
"What the hell happened?!" cried the young mutant known as Rogue approaching them.  
"A psychic attack..." said Beast, moving his head from side to side.  
"It wasn't an attack," said Logan firmly.  
"Change the course Logan, and increase our speed, she needs us," said Storm rising from her seat.  
"She? She who?" asked Rogue, confused.  
"Jean," Storm, Beast and Wolverine said in unison.

"So, this is what he calls home now?" said a young woman entering the gigantic abandoned warehouse.  
"How the mighty have fallen," said a tall muscular young man.  
"Look I appreciate you all coming with me. But keep your mouths shut because I cannot find him if you keep yammering," said the group's leader, moving in the darkness.  
"You can't find it because it's dark. Let me turn on the light," the young mutant girl lifted her hands and three balls of pure energy were created from them. The balls hovered in front of her, bringing light to the room.  
"Well thinking Tab," said a tall skinny young man.  
"No need for thanks Guthrie," replied Tabitha Smith, also known as Meltdown, rather coldly.  
"Again guys... shush," said Danielle Moonstar, closing her eyes and concentrating. "For weeks, since we all lost our powers, he's been calling me. How I have no idea, but I know he was sending those dreams deliberately."  
"And we all believe you Dani, that's why we chose to follow you all the way from San Francisco," said Jesse Bedlam, the last to enter the warehouse. "But didn't you all say he bailed on you? What's so important about this old dude to make us cross the country on record time?"  
"The old dude was our teacher, our leader," said James Proudstar.  
"And his psychic call was urgent and impossible to deflect. He needs me here," finished Dani.  
"Just hope this old dude is worth it," muttered Jesse under his breath.  
"Will you cut it out with the old dude thing? I'm not that old," said a deep male voice before them. Tabitha guided her time bombs towards the voice, illuminating the man, and they all saw  
"Cable," said Dani smiling, moving forward to hug the man, the others approached as well, but only Tabitha hugged him. Proudstar smiled and patted his back, but Sam Guthrie merely shook his hand.  
"Sam, nice to know you're sticking with X-Force. It's where you belong," Cable said ceremoniously. "Where is Dom?"  
"Had other business, said you'd understand," said Proudstar.  
"Hey... do you look younger or is it just me?" asked Meltdown.  
"I feel... revitalized," said Cable.  
"Why did you call me?" asked Moonstar, eager to find out what was happening.  
"I need your help Dani, or to put it better, the whole universe needs you help," he said with a concerned tone.

"The portable Cerebro unit is going berserk. No offense Logan," said Beast, checking the device in his hands.  
"Explain us what is going on Henry," said Storm, her eyes fixed on the path before them as their ship flew faster.  
"Well it's something we've never seen before. Her telekinetic powers seem to be out of control, that's what every bit of machinery on board tells me. She's increasing the pressure around herself exponentially. From what the telemetry tells me she has been like this since we 'saved mutantkind', roughly six or seven hours ago. We will not be able to reach her, she is inside a deep telekinetic dome, but our problems do not end there. She is puncturing a hole in the fabric of reality. If she continues to pour telekinetic energy... she might create a black hole or something even worse."  
"A black hole in suburbia. Nice," said Logan.  
"Hopefully we'll be able to stop it before," but Ororo could not continue her sentence.  
"Before what?" asked Shadowcat.  
"Before Dark Phoenix returns," sentenced Logan.

The ship soared at great speed, reaching the home of their friend and the sight before them was not unexpected. Media trucks, police cars, hundreds of people gathered around the destroyed home of the Greys, staring at the gigantic telekinetic dome, which kept growing as they came closer. The ship landed next to the house, as the policemen hurried to move bystanders out of the way.  
"What's the plan Stormy?" asked Gambit, playing with a card.  
"Beast, you will deal with the media, ask them to move backwards and if possible to vacate the premises," said Storm.  
"Fat chance, it's a juicy story, mutant goes berserk always sell," added Kitty Pryde, Shadowcat.  
"Iceman, Nightcrawler, Shadowcat, Logan, you're with me, we will try to reach Jean. The rest... try to move the bystanders out of the way, help Henry, and someone find Jean's parents and tell them we're here," she finished. The hatch opened and Ororo moved towards the exit. "Let's save the life of our friend."

"Figures... I told ya it was those blasted muties again," said a policeman as the X-Men moved closer.  
"We'll take it over from here," said Storm simply, walking towards the remains of the Grey House.  
"Hey you're muties, you X-Men have no authority, you can't just storm in. The sheriff won't allow you to," said the cop.  
"She wasn't asking you, she was informing you, bub," said Logan, flashing his claws.  
"Now now Wolverine, don't be so bad with Mr. Cop...," said Beast, moving closer, taking his Avengers ID card from his belt and showing it to the policeman. "This is enough to give us authority my friend. Have no doubt that we will be able to sort this mess and restore peace to your lovely suburb."

Storm slowly whispered her friend's name as she came face to face with the telekinetic dome. She raised her hand slowly, attempting to touch it, but as she did, she realized it was as hard as stone, and she could feel it pushing outwards. "Iceman? You know Jean from her school days... did something like this--?"  
"Nope. There was this one time when she went berserk, sort of, nothing Dark Phoenixish, but not on this level, and the Prof was able to calm her down instantly," explained the mutant.  
"Great, Chuck picked the perfect time to leave us," muttered Logan.  
"Nightcrawler, try to teleport inside," said Storm.  
The German mutant closed his eyes and disappeared with a cloud of smoke and a thick stench of sulfur and brimstone. In less than a second, he appeared in the same spot. "She's not letting me get closer."  
"Don't worry. Shadowcat... see if you can enter," said Storm, going back a few steps.  
Kitty Pryde became intangible as she walked forward. She took a deep breath and touched the dome in front of her. She phased through it with no problem. She looked back at Storm and then slowly began to enter the dome.  
"Iceman, shield us from prying eyes," said Storm, as she closed her eyes.  
Robert Drake lifted his hands, creating an ice wall separating them from the bystanders with no true effort.  
"Now we try to reach Jean," said Storm, clearing her mind and calling her friend's name in silence.

Shadowcat moved through the coalescing energies. She knew this was not just telekinesis, there was more at work here. She tried not to think, but she found herself unable to. It all felt too weird, the strange combination of psychic energies permeating through her. She called her friends name with her mind, but found no answer. After a few seconds, (or was it an eternity?) she reached the core of the dome, and saw Jean Grey, levitating with her arms wide open, as well as her eyes, her green Phoenix costume shimmering in the eerie pink light. "Jean? Can you hear me?" said the young girl.  
Jean Grey moved her head slightly and watched Kitty. "Help me," she said, and then she extended her hands towards the girl.  
Shadowcat felt a terrible pain and found herself hurled at great speed. Soon she left the dome, becoming tangible as she did, and Storm caught her in mid-air. "She needs us," said the youngster.

"It hurts... it didn't hurt before," said Marrow, slowly caressing her temples.  
"Not now Sarah... we need to move this people out of here," said Colossus, his steel body shining with the morning's sun.  
"Sure... the flatscans safety is always a priority," said Marrow. "Move it lady," she shouted at an old woman, trying hard not to push her.  
"I do assure you that the situation is under control and everything will return to normalcy in a few seconds, now we can save your collective behinds better if you leave these grounds with utmost haste," said Beast, surrounded by microphones.  
"Does this means the mutant menace is back? There were rumors of a worldwide event where mutants lost their powers... was this true? Did all mutants just regained their powers?" asked a journalist.  
"Beast!" screamed Storm from behind the wall of ice.  
"I'm sorry ladies and gentlemen, but I'm required on the field of battle, do us all a favor and exit swiftly," added as he began to bounce towards a tree in order to jump through the wall.

"We need your expertise. It is impossible to reach her physically and according to Kitty she is awake," said Storm.  
"Well, let me see," Beast moved closer, rising a strange device towards the dome. "Hmm, interesting... this energy started as purely telekinetic, of that I'm certain... but now... it's a cauldron of psychic energies... perhaps if we were to come in direct contact with it... Shadowcat, do you think you'll be able to phase again?"  
"Sure... I'm game," said the girl moving forward.  
"Great. You will need to phase me, Storm and Wolverine with you. We are going to attempt to use these energies to enter the astral plane, were we might be able to speak to Jean. Do understand that this is all theoretical and it could not work at all."  
"How? How can we reach her this way?" asked Storm.  
"I could explain, but it'll take us time and time is of the essence," said Beast, extending his hand to Shadowcat.  
The young girl felt the touch of her friends in her shoulders and slowly moved her right hand towards the dome once more, feeling the same energies coursing through her body as she phased through the dome. "Contact," she said.  
"Good, now open your minds, remember the Professor's training," said Beast. "It might feel we're doing nothing at first, but I trust the psychic energies will help us enter the Astral Plane."

Ororo felt a familiar tingle in her head as the psychic energies permeated Kitty's body once more and expanded towards her and the others. She could not explain it, but suddenly it all became clear. She opened her eyes and found herself alone in a vast space. She recognized the feeling, she was in the Astral Plane once more. "Henry? Logan? Kitten?" she asked, but there was no answer. She was alone. She looked towards the horizon, where far away, a shining bright light erupted and she was able to see Jean Grey, curled into a fetal position. She rushed to her aid, flying at great speed, but she could not reach her. Every inch she moved forward, Jean moved as well, even though she was not moving. She could see Jean, but she could not reach her, regardless of how fast she moved or what she did. "Jean! Jean, listen to me!" She screamed.  
"O... Ororo?" said Jean, her voice distraught and shy, rising her head slightly.  
"Yes Jean! You have to stop, you have to calm down!" Storm continued to shout.  
"I... I can't..., " replied Jean  
"Yes you can... you must...," said Storm, feeling her body reclaiming her.  
"I need help... I need Charles...," said Jean, her voice sounding more ominous and aloof.  
Ororo did not answer, she closed her eyes, forcing her mind to remain on the astral plane, but it was futile, as soon as she opened her eyes, she found herself back on her body, back with her friends.

"You did it," smiled Beast triumphantly.  
"It was all for naught. Jean is panicking. She says she needs Charles," said Ororo. "Why was I able to when you couldn't?"  
"I have a couple of theories. More than once it has been theorized that your own mutant power is not too different from telepathy, and you did possess telepathy for a while, not to mention out of all of us you have visited the Astral Plane in more than one occasion. Also, and most likely, Jean might have helped you make the transition," explained Beast.  
"It wasn't enough, I couldn't reach her," said Storm "We need a telepath, we need..."

"Me," said a deep voice approaching them. They all turned to see a man they all knew. Cable walked towards the X-Men, followed closely by Danielle Moonstar. He lifted his psi-mitar, a weapon of Askani design and aimed at the center of the dome.  
"Wait what are you doing, bub?" asked Wolverine, flashing his claws menacingly.  
"Saving the day," said Cable simply. He threw his psi-mitar, guiding it with his own telekinesis. The psi-mitar gathered the psychic energies from the dome, increasing its speed and soon it reached jean Grey, skewering her. The red-haired mutant screamed and fell to the ground. "Now Dani."  
"Now?" asked Shadowcat confused.  
Danielle Moonstar concentrated, unleashing her mutant illusion power, assaulting Jean Grey's mind. A terrible image of the Phoenix firebird appeared before them all, its beak wide open, attempting to eat Jean. The mutant screamed as the dome of psychic energies contracted, imploding. They could all hear her psychic scream as she fell unconscious.

Silence reigned. Slowly, as the energies dissipated, Wolverine moved through the debris, followed by the rest. He kneeled next to Jean and lifted her. "Great move, bub... next time we need help don't bother coming," he said looking at Cable.  
"I did what I had to. We must move quickly if we're to stop this from happening again," said Cable, removing the psi-mitar with his telekinesis. The psychic weapon had not left a single scar.  
"Moira is already waiting for us. Let's move," said Storm, walking towards the Blackbird.

**Chapter two  
**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter two**

The breeze was enough to make the waves crash heavily upon the rocks, washing the Coast of Muir Island, in Scotland. As the private jet landed, a group of people rushed towards it, ready to take over the emergency.  
"Be ready lad, we have to rush back inside as soon as she's on the stretcher," said the woman in charge, wearing a long white coat.  
"Of course ma'am," said the four men at once.  
The jet's door opened and a winged man descended, carrying a young violet-haired woman in his arms. "Moira, Jamie, thanks for answering," he said, gently placing his girlfriend on the stretcher.  
"Ach lad, you need not thank us, it's what we do. Now Jamie, go inside fast, Rahne is waiting," at once, Multiple Man rushed carrying the stretcher. "How did this happen Warren?"  
"I'm not certain Moria. She just fainted two seconds before I regained my powers. I'm guessing it has something to do with it."  
"Well it was a rather violent process. Jamie here created almost a hundred dupes in a second, and Rahne turned into a wolf in an instant, without passing through her transitional form. It might be accurate to predict that all mutants suffered a rather violent outburst of their powers as they returned."  
"Did the X-Men call?" asked Warren as they walked towards the inside of the world's foremost mutant research institute.  
"Aye. They're coming here as we speak. Ororo almost created a hurricane over Europe and Iceman almost froze their ship, but they're alright now. They're late actually, when they called they were in Transia, wonder what diverted their attention," said the doctor.  
"Perhaps they are in need of our help," said Warren with a tone of worry.  
"Let us hope not," ended Moira. "Besides we better focus on Betsy right now. Since you called, I cannot stop thinking about what may have happened... and... well I don't want to worry you... but this might very well be a psychic attack from the Shadow King."  
"I've thought about it too. When she lost her powers, she was so relieved. It was as if a great load was lifted from her shoulders. The crimson mark over her eye faded as well... but now it's back. Too many things... too many shadows upon her soul," he said.  
Moira patted his back. "We'll sort it out Warren... The Shadow King started his life as a mutant, but he eventually became a being of pure energy, living in the Astral Plane. We don't know how such an event might have affected him."

In a higher plane, a plane of reality hidden from most, a plane created by the thoughts of the entire universe, an entity laid dormant. Slowly it began to think, to regain form, consciousness. The Astral Plane was his home, his playground, and lately his prison. The Shadow King looked around, there was naught but darkness around him. He could feel the dark thoughts of the humans, those dark, festering thoughts that nourished him, and he slowly became stronger. He did not know what happened to him. It felt as if he had been forced to sleep. He reached out, trying to move, trying to escape, but it was futile, he was still within the prison created by the X-Man known as Psylocke. He cursed, feeling himself weak still. He wanted to be out, he wanted to make them all suffer. He felt a mind-quake, a terrible release of psychic energies, pouring from all directions, altering the plane he so loved and hated. He heard the voices, voices he immediately recognized, though he could not see them.  
"Yes Jean! You have to stop, you have to calm down!"  
"I... I can't..."  
"Yes you can... you must..."  
"I need help... I need Charles..."  
The Shadow King recoiled at the mention of his hated enemy, but after a second, he smiled. The X-Men were in trouble. His hated foe's children were in pain. The same unknown force that obliged him to sleep had sent the X-Men's powers in disarray. He could feel the confusion and the pain of Jean Grey, and then it occurred to him. If this had hurt someone as strong as Phoenix, it had to hurt his hated captor as well. He saw a window of opportunity for his escape. A small light appeared before him, and the face of a bald man appeared in it. It was not who he thought it would be.  
"Good night, my king," said the man, the Shadow King did not answer. "I come with tidings in this dark hour. A proposition to help you escape your prison."  
The Shadow King smiled at the omnipath before him. "Speak then, I have nothing but time."

The door to the institute opened with a creak. The entrance hall shining with the evening light. Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning was empty but for one person, who patted her foot on the ground as she saw the arrivals.  
"You're late," said Cecilia Reyes, her arms folded and her eyebrows furrowed.  
"Sorry Cecilia dear, it does take time to drive from New York, in case you were wondering. I wish we had teleporters on the team. Long-range teleporters that is Kurt," said Beast entering the mansion he thought of as home.  
"No offense taken, her doctor," said Kurt Wagner moving closer and kissing Cecilia's hand.  
"Explain something to me, weren't we going to this Mutant Hospital or something? How come we have to come here to receive attention from her?" asked Marrow impatiently scratching her arms.  
"Nice to see you haven't changed sewer girl," replied Cecilia Reyes.  
"We couldn't all fit on the plane girl. Now be glad we have Cecilia here to assist Beast," said Rogue harshly, moving forward. "You ok Cecilia?"  
"Everything's peachy Rogue," Cecilia replied hugging her friend, careful not to touch the girl's skin.  
"Since my powers did not go haywire when they were restored, I think it best if I vent frustrations on the Danger Room. Meet me there if you want to, da?" said Colossus walking towards the lower levels.  
"Great idea Piotr. In fact, I think it best if you all go to the Danger Room, it'd be best to test your powers while your using them," said Beast clapping his hands.  
"Great. Not only we get sub-standard medical assistance, we also have to work to get it," said Marrow crossing her arms.

As the mutants walked through the halls of their school, Cecilia Reyes moved closer to Beast. "How's Jean? I can't stop thinking about what you told me over the phone."  
"Well, Ororo said she'd call as soon as they reached Muir. To be honest with you Cecilia, examining the X-Men is the least of our reasons to come here. We need to run a global search. There are some pretty powerful mutants out there and if someone else lost control of their abilities... well we could have a crisis in our hands..."  
"I thought Cerebro only worked with telepaths," said Cecilia.  
"It does, when you're trying to find new mutants, but it can help pinpoint known mutants and their current status quo. Do not worry, if there is a mission, you can stay here."  
"You calling me a coward?" she said angrily.  
"Of course not my good doctor, I was merely referring to your very much public dislike of superheroing," said Beast gently.  
"It's not superheroing, it's helping people and I'm more than willing to go out and do it," said Cecilia crossing her arms again.  
After a brief silence, as they took the elevator after the others, he spoke again. "How are you coping?"  
"Fine. When I lost my powers it was a dream come true... and when they returned, I woke up from the dream. Story of my life," said Cecilia evasively.

As the elevator's doors opened, their hearts began to beat faster as they saw the lights blinking and a panel falling from the ceiling. "Oh my stars and garters," said Beast walking out of the elevator, instinctively pushing Cecilia backwards. He could not believe his eyes, bone shards flying in all directions, tentacles of bone moving swiftly through the corridor, as Rogue, Colossus and Nightcrawler did their best to move themselves out of harm's way, and in the middle of the scene, full with agony, Marrow screamed.

"So many things, everything happening so fast," said Ororo Munroe, looking at the coast, a slight breeze filling the balcony as the sun set in the sky.  
"Story of our lives darlin', it's been like this ever since we signed for the job," said Wolverine, standing next to her, lighting a cigar.  
"Any word on Jean, or Betsy?" she asked.  
"Nothing new. Cable is still trying to reach them through the psychic plane. Says he's not used to these things. Moira's checking the others though. Your number might come up soon."  
"I need not examination. My connection to the elements is correct, there are no after-effects," said Storm dismissively. "We need a stronger telepath if Cable isn't up to the task. We cannot contact Charles and even if we did it could take him too long to arrive from space. We need to call Frost."  
"Frost? Working with the X-Men? That'll be the day," said Logan enjoying his cigar.  
"She is Headmistress of Xavier's School. If Charles could trust her then so must we," said Storm simply, dispersing the gathering clouds with a thought.  
"Funny how time works... you talking about trusting Frost... I remember the time when you wanted to murder her with your own hands," he replied.  
"Funny indeed. Make the arrangements Logan. Invite the White Queen here. Tell her I will not take no for an answer," said Storm.  
"Will do boss," he said, dropping the cigar and heading towards the building.  
"Charles... we have such need of you," whispered Storm lowering her head.

"All clear Kitty, there are no traces of psychic energy within your body, your phasing ability remains unaffected," said Moira hastily.  
"Great doc, I told you I felt as good as new. I should've gone with Beast," said the youngster leaving her bed.  
"Better safe than sorry lass," said Moira. "Off you go, tell Bobby he's next."  
Kitty Pryde exited the lab and saw her teammates waiting outside. "You're next Drake. Be careful though, Moira is in a foul mood, she said something about probes..."  
"Probes... oh man... that doesn't sound good," said Iceman walking towards the door with trepidation.  
Kitty did her best to stop herself from giggling as she joined her friends. "So Rahne... any news?"  
"Not really Kitty... just catching up with Dani here... seems Sam wants to get back together with Tabitha, but she wants nothing to do with her," replied the red-haired girl.  
"Bummer for Sam," said Kitty sitting. "Where is the rest of X-Force anyway?"  
"They were coming, but then Domino called asking for help and well... they left," explained Danielle Moonstar.  
"There's always a mission for the X-Teams..." said Kitty grudgingly.

Chaos was all around. In the confined hallway, the X-Men did their best to remain one step ahead of Marrow's bone protrusions. Colossus shielded his peers with his organic steel body, stopping a series of flying shards of bone. Nightcrawler teleported, always trying to get closer to the girl, whose screams only increased the feeling of chaos. However, he was unable to, for she had created a sort of bone armor, surrounding her entire body. Beast leaped from ceiling to floor, avoiding Marrow's attack, as Rogue tried to break the bones attacking her. Amidst all the chaos, Cecilia Reyes stood still, concentrating. Her force field protected her from the occasional attack, from the flying bone shards. Slowly she began to walk towards Marrow, avoiding to listen McCoy's banter, and the girl's screams of utmost terror. Slowly she walked and lifted her hand, extending her force field outwards. Ever so gently, her force field, an extension of her own being, reached out through the bones, through the attack, slowly reaching out to Marrow.  
"Hey kid... calm down... everything's fine," Cecilia Reyes said, caressing the young mutant with her force field as she moved her hand in the air. She could feel the tears, she could hear Marrow's pain. "Everything's going to be fine," she said in a soothing tone, her other hand slowly reaching her pocket.  
Marrow calmed down, the gentle touch of Cecilia's force field, combined with her words seemed to have effect.  
Slowly Cecilia approached Marrow, coming closer with every step; reaching out to her friend in need. The bones did not attack, there were no more shards flying in every direction.  
"I believe it would behoove us to detain our movements," said Beast, hanging from the ceiling, halting his teammates.  
Cecilia Reyes reached Marrow at last, as she fell to her knees. Gently, the Puerto Rican doctor removed a syringe from her pocket, and as she caressed Marrow's head, she slowly jammed it in her arm. "Sleep now kid... everything will be fine."

The contents from the syringe slowly flowed into Marrow's bloodstream, and, as they did, the young mutant fell unconscious.  
"This will keep her asleep. We should remove this bone tentacles coming from her back, as well as this armor," said Cecilia, trying to break a bone tentacle with her hands.  
"I will do it," said Colossus moving forward.  
"I will prepare the med lab then," said Beast jumping forward, through the now calm scene.  
"I guess that leave us the cleaning up part," said Nightcrawler, appearing next to Rogue.  
"Oh joy," added the southern x-woman, slowly cleaning her torn sleeve.

Chapter Three


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The sheer emptiness of the open space was frightening. The darkness surrounded her fully, and the only visible lights were faint and millions of miles away. Yet, for all the terrifying conditions, Jean Grey felt no fear. She stared at the darkness, at the emptiness, and a sense of calmness filled her, a sense of belonging rooted in her mind. She remained unmoving, for a second, a minute, a century, for time seemed not to exist. Something was clearly wrong. Someone was playing with the Astral Plane. She felt a presence nearby, in the shadows, in the darkness.

"So much space, so much emptiness... who could imagine the collective minds of mankind had so much empty space?" asked Psylocke, erupting from the shadows with ease, standing next to her.  
"And to think some alien races fear us," smiled Jean.  
"There is a disturbance here. I cannot return to my body. Did you come for me?" asked Psylocke, the bright red tattoo glowing in her dark astral self.  
"I wish that was the case, but no. My power returned suddenly, wildly... I might have done a very bad thing. I can't return to my body either," explained Jean.  
"The Shadow King is still in his prison, that I can feel... and this... this isn't his doing," said Elisabeth Braddock.  
"Who could be powerful enough to alter the Astral Plane?" asked Jean, staring at the emptiness.  
"You?" smiled Betsy. "Xavier?" she added.  
"Perhaps it's just another after-effect of the power-returning wave," theorized Jean.  
"Perhaps... so... since we're stranded here... wanna fight?" asked Betsy, her astral form suddenly enveloped in a shining metal armor.  
"Sure, let's train," said Jean, forming a psychic armor and sword around her.

"The pieces are set, master, and the Shadow King agreed to participate in our game," said the Gamesmaster, the world's sole omnipath, bowing at a man sitting in a chair with a high back.  
"How long will it be until the game begins?" asked the man, slowly swinging a cup with red wine on his hand.  
"Three months at the very least until it takes hold, give or take," added the Gamesmaster.  
"Give or take?" said the man, staring at the fireplace.  
"I took several precautions to set the pieces, to carefully craft your designed game, master, still, nothing is certain, there is always an amount of uncertainty, that's what makes things interesting," explained the Gamesmaster.  
"Very well. I can wait, I've waited for centuries, I can wait three more months," said the man, and he sipped from his cup, smiling.

"What did she do?" asked Storm at the monitor in front of her, surprised.  
"Ran away. I am most sorry to give you this news, Ororo, but she ran away during the night. Security cameras showed her reacting badly to her new condition. She had reverted to her former estate. Unluckily for her, poor Marrow lost what little control she had over her powers. She is gone," said Beast.  
"Find her Henry, she is a child. She needs our guidance," said Storm, "I have to go now, they're starting."  
"We'll do our best. Nightcrawler and Rogue are searching the tunnels and Colossus went to New York, keep me posted on Jean and Betsy," said Beast as the transmission broke.

Ororo Munroe lowered her head, praying to the goddess for the safe return of young  
Marrow. The girl had changed so much since she had gained a semblance of control over her powers, it was unfair that she had lost it again. Ororo knew that below her attitude and rudeness, Marrow was only a scared child. She turned from the computer and walked towards the med lab. Kitty, Iceman, Gambit and Wolverine waited outside the door, accompanied by Banshee, who had arrived recently.  
"You ok, princess?" asked Logan as he saw Storm walking past them.  
"Marrow escaped from the Institute, she lost control of her powers," she said, but without waiting for a response she turned to Banshee. "Sean, how are your students? Anything wrong?"  
"Luckily no, lass, Moira gave them the all clear a few minutes ago," said Banshee smiling.  
"We must thank the goddess for no further problems," said Storm. "How's everything in there?"  
"They just started from what I can tell," said Iceman, staring at the door.

Emma Frost grabbed Cable's hand. "Our telepathy combined has to be strong enough to breach this wall that prevents us from reaching the Astral Plane."  
"You better be right about this, Frost," said Cable, his right eye glowing as his mind made contact with the woman beside him.  
Danielle Moonstar prepared, creating a psychic arrow in front of her. She stared at the two women, strapped to twin beds in vertical position. It seemed too much like a BSM session gone wrong, especially due to Emma Frost's white leather clothes. She smiled and then did her best to erase those thoughts from her head. She concentrated, focusing in creating a second arrow of pure psychic energy. She aimed the arrows carefully, her eyes fixed on her targets.  
"Ready Dani?" asked Cable.  
"Ready," replied the young mutant. At the order of her former leader, Danielle Moonstar let loose her arrows, affecting both Jean and Betsy.

Jean smiled, covering Betsy's attack with her shield. Betsy did not hesitate, she moved her sword again, hitting Jean's shield, trying to force her to drop it. Jean focused her psychic energy on her shield, and, as she saw Betsy's sword moving towards it, she pushed, hitting Betsy with the shield.

"Argh!" cried Betsy, falling to the ground, releasing her sword.  
"Did I hurt you?" asked Jean, but before Betsy could answer, she felt a searing pain in her chest "Argh!" her psychic armor faded, and she saw Betsy's armor fading as well. The darkness of the Astral Plane suddenly became darker, but two figures slowly made themselves visible in front of her. The pain faded and she saw Betsy standing next to her, recuperated from the blow. Phoenix braced herself, sensing a discomfort, but her fears assuaged when the figures became clear.

"So... everyone's worried and you too are playing? How very mature," said Emma Frost, releasing Cable's hand.  
"You are coming to our rescue? How low we've fallen," said Betsy negating with her head and looking down.  
"Are you all right?" asked Cable.  
"We are not two year olds, we are fine," said Jean. "How long were we gone?"  
"Three days. Now let's go back... there is something about this place that makes me nervous," said Cable.  
"We better be able to return now, the last thing I want is to remain stranded here with you people," said Emma Frost.  
"There's the warm Emma we all know and love," said Jean as the four gathered in a circle, grabbing each other's hands.

Moira McTaggert held her chart closely to her chest, waiting, expecting. Her eyes floated to the balcony, where Archangel stood on the rail, crouching like a bird, his wings unfolded, covering him. Her eyes floated to the unmoving forms of Cable and Emma Frost, standing in the middle of the room, and the unmoving bodies of Jean and Betsy. Danielle Moonstar stood by her side, holding her breath. They shared a glance, and waited.

The door opened slowly. Storm entered the room. She looked at Moira and Dani, and then her unconscious friends. She did not truly know what to do. Her eyes glanced towards the open door at the far end of the med lab, and saw Archangel. She looked at Moira, who nodded, and Storm silently walked towards Warren. She reached his side swiftly and stood next to him. For a few minutes, they stood in silence, staring at the dying sun and the beauty of dusk. Until Warren spoke.  
"You want to know the funny part?" said Warren at last. Ororo did not reply, yet he continued to speak. "All my life I wanted to not be a mutant, to not have this stupid wings, and not even a day after I lost them, I began praying for them to return. And when I do get the stupid wings back, I loose the only thing that has mattered to me more than my own life. It isn't fair."  
"No. It isn't," said Storm simply. She stretched her arm, hugging Warren, who enveloped his friend with his wing, allowing her to hug him.

Minutes passed, and turned into hours. Impatience bred on the gathered mutants. At the stroke of midnight, the four psychics opened their eyes in unison.  
"We're back!" said Jean with glee.  
The response was immediate. Warren threw himself towards Betsy, kissing her, while Storm released Jean from her bed, and then hugged her. Dani moved next to Cable, who crouched on all fours, while Moira opened the door to allow the others to enter. After several minutes of greetings and salutations, Cable looked out the balcony door.  
"It is night?" he asked.  
"Yes, midnight to be accurate," answered Storm, moving next to him.  
"It is impossible... the transition was instantaneous," he mused. "There is more here than it seems."  
Warren took Betsy to the balcony, kissing passionately, while the others spoke, without truly thinking it, he began to fly, taking Betsy in his arms.  
Cable cleared his throat, calling everyone's attention. "This isn't over. Someone is playing with the Astral Plane, someone is attempting to alter it. We need to find out who."  
"I agree with Nathan. This is only beginning," added Jean darkly.

The Gamesmaster walked through the torch lit corridors, the stench of mould and ancient bricks filling his senses. He reached the end of the corridor, placing his hand on a rickety wooden door and pushing it. His eyes surveyed the room, looking at the circular table, with the Hellfire sign on it, and the three people sitting at it. The Inner Circle of the Hellfire Club. The Black King, the demon known as Blackheart, the White Queen, Adrienne Frost, and the Black Queen, the immortal mutant, Selene. In the shadows stood a man, holding a cup of wine and staring at a painting. The Gamesmaster bowed and Blackheart spoke.

"So? Is it ready?" he asked, his blood-red eyes glowing in anticipation.  
"Yes. The game is set, the players are eager to start, the pieces have been chosen," he said, "and all are unaware of the grand game they're in."  
"Perfect. If this goes properly we will have the power of the X-Men at our side, and there will be no realm capable to withstand our mutant army," said Blackheart.  
"Are you sure he is fooled? You must not underestimate Elias," said Selene, playing with her cup of wine.  
"Elias Bogan is a powerful mutant, but for all his power he cannot see. He has chosen his warrior and wishes to profit from her victory," explained the Gamesmaster.  
"You worry too much, Selene, you always have," said the man in the darkness.  
"We are manipulating the mutant who founded our club, as well as the Shadow King, not to mention those accursed X-Men. I am merely cautious," replied the Black Queen.  
"He is right, you worry too much. Our array of power is enough to keep Bogan and Farouk in check," said Adrienne Frost, the recently elected White Queen.  
"Over-confidence in your abilities is what caused you to loose your battle against Emma," said the man in the darkness, moving forward. He was dressed in a white suit, most unlike him, yet suiting him perfectly. He placed his hands in Adrienne's shoulders and smiled. "But I agree with you. We have covered all our bases. We have planned and we will harvest our rewards soon."  
"For your sake, Shaw, you better be right," said Blackheart leaning forward.  
"Don't worry my Black King... I am," said Sebastian Shaw, the newest White King, with a smile.

Chapter Four


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four **

Smoke rose from the ground, from the rubble of the once proud Xavier Mansion. A light drizzle fell from the skies, unable to quell the remnants of the fire. Her eyes were wide open, unable to register what was happening. She saw the charred body of Shadowcat laid on the rubble, the broken, twisted bones of what once was Rogue, the severed head of Henry McCoy, a pond of melted organic steel, who was once Colossus, a pack of glowing cards, the only remains of Gambit, and the shiny bright adamantium skeleton of Wolverine. Her eyes gave in to tears, and her sadness gave in to rage. She was impotent to save them, she had not been able to stop them, to stop the fight. She looked up, the orange sky of dusk shining brighter, as she approached. The red and yellow clad figure of Phoenix, flying towards her.  
Ororo Munroe stood up, releasing the remains of Shadowcat, cleaning her tears as thunder broke in the distance. A sudden wind erupted from nowhere and she began to levitate.  
"It will not be enough. You are all doomed nonetheless," said a voice nearby.  
Ororo Munroe turned around, and saw a hooded woman, standing in darkness. She turned to see Phoenix, who laughed like a maniac as she approached. Ororo conjured lightning, creating a wall of it between her assailant and herself, and the hooded woman spoke again.  
"You always fight, and you always die. All of you. So will she. There is only one chance for victory, one chance to save everything."  
Ororo looked at the woman, looked at Phoenix, and tried to understand the words. Phoenix created a telekinetic cocoon around her, and passed through the lightning wall. The bright image of a firebird erupted behind her.  
"Do not fight, if you want to live," said the hooded woman.  
Ororo closed her eyes, relaxing her mind. The skies cleared, the lightning stopped, and a slight breeze covered the area. Phoenix lifted her hand, releasing a blast of pure telekinetic energy, and Ororo screamed in pain as she fell.

Thunder broke in the distance as the heavy rain continued to fall around the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning. Ororo Munroe, leader of the X-Men, opened her eyes, sitting abruptly in bed. She was covered in sweat. She looked around, she had the same nightmare again. Slowly she stood from her bed, fixing her eyes on the window, and the heavy rain outside. She hugged herself, unable to stop the rain, encouraging it in some way.  
"It happened again?" asked Wolverine entering Storm's room, his chest bare as well as his feet, a pair of pants his sole garment.  
"Yes. Every day the same dream, the same nightmare. The X-Men dead, and she was responsible. Dark Phoenix," said Storm.  
"It's just a dream 'roro. Nothing more, nothing less," said Logan, closing the door behind him.  
"My heart tells me so, my heart wishes to believe so. But, what if it is not just a dream? My mind tells me there is something else. If Jean is reverting to her Dark Phoenix persona, I am afraid we won't be able to stop her," she said without turning around.  
"You're forgetting something, darlin', she wasn't Dark Phoenix the first time," said Logan.  
"Now who's in denial?" replied Storm. "Jean's powers have returned to normal levels since the debacle at her parent's house three months ago. Henry assures me there is nothing to worry, yet, I cannot help feeling this is merely the beginning of a hard and long battle."  
"If that's the case, we will deal with things like we always have," he said, reaching her side at last.  
"It's not only about Jean. We have not found Marrow yet. Three months, searching the tunnels, combing the city... and she is nowhere to be seen. It... unsettles me," added Storm looking out the window.  
"I told ya when she left, the kid don't want to be found, we ain't gonna find her," replied Logan.  
"That does not mean I will stop looking for her. It's... it is my fault. I should've brought her to Muir, but I was too concerned about Jean to think straight," said Storm lowering her head.  
"We've down this road before, 'roro. Kid made a choice, it's not your fault she doesn't want help," said Logan reassuringly.  
"It still feels like it," replied Ororo, hugging herself and looking up.  
They stared in silence at the rain, and Logan smiled. "You know you have to stop causing so much rain, the meteorologists are going crazy..."  
Ororo smiled "Good, I never much liked meteorologists. Weather can't be predicted, weather can't be controlled."  
Logan gently grabbed Ororo, enveloping her in his arms. "You know I will always be here for you, no questions asked, right?"  
"That needs not to be said Logan. I have complete faith in you, I always have," she replied, looking at him.  
Logan did not speak. He merely moved her closer to him, and sank his lips on hers, kissing her passionately.

The sun rose amidst the clear skies at last. A chilling breeze blew through the countryside. Ororo opened her eyes, smiling. She looked at man sleeping next to her and gently kissed his lips. She stood up from bed, bathing in the sunlight as she opened the window. For a second all the worries in her world were gone, but it was a very short second. She looked at Logan, she looked at the skies, and made a choice.

"School's getting kinda empty, don't you think?" said Rogue closing the refrigerator's door, her hand gripping a bottle of milk.  
"At last, more room to laze around," replied Kitty Pryde stretching over the kitchen table.  
"Lately we haven't done much, haven't we? You all had a brief tussle with the Brotherhood and then... it's like all villains decided to take a holiday," said Rogue sitting across the table.  
"Good for me sugah," replied Kitty, lazily scooping cereal from her bowl.  
"Hmph," grunted Wolverine as he walked in. He walked towards the fridge, opened it, took out a piece of chicken, bit it and started to walk out.  
"Good morning to you Logan," said Rogue, adding cereal to her bowl.  
Wolverine looked at the girls, grunted, and left the kitchen.  
"He's such a morning person," smiled Rogue, pouring milk into her cereal bowl. "Yo... Kitten... what's up?"  
Kitty lifted her eyes at Rogue "Don't know... feeling lazy I guess," she said, playing with her cereal.  
Wolverine returned to the kitchen, scratching his head. "Anyone seen Ororo?"  
"Not since yesterday," said Kitty.  
"Pretty bad weather last night, she might've had some nightmares," said Rogue as she scooped cereal from her bowl. "If it was someone else ah'd said they're sleeping in, but Ororo usually gets up with the sun. Maybe she's just flying around."  
"Yeah... maybe...," replied Logan, biting his chicken leg. "You see her, tell her I'm looking for her."

She rode the wind, flying faster with each mile, moving closer to her intended destination. The hooded figure had appeared before her once more, seconds before waking up. Ororo remembered the face of the woman clearly in her mind's eye. She had known this day would one day come, she had been warned, in fact, she was the only X-Man to know. Xavier had confided in her long ago, when she first became the leader of the X-Men. She wondered if there was a connection between her and her nightmares, and her worries. As she flew, she could do nothing more than think. She tried to concentrate, to flew faster, but all she could think of was Tessa Niles' face, and her two words. "Los Angeles."

Danielle Moonstar opened the front door of Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning. Her surprise was great when she saw the handsome face of Warren Worthington III on the other side.  
"Archangel! Sir... you need not ring the doorbell," she said surprised, opening the door so he could come inside.  
"It is not my house anymore Dani," replied Warren, moving inside carrying a couple of suitcases, "it's common courtesy that I ring the doorbell."  
"Let me help you with that," said Dani, grabbing one of the cases, she began to close the door, when suddenly she felt unable to.  
"I understand I have the hottest boyfriend alive, but I advice you to look before closing a door, luv," Elisabeth Braddock entered, carrying yet another suitcase and a hat box.  
"Psylocke... I forgot you both were coming," said Dani blushing.  
"No harm done," smiled Braddock walking inside, her long floral dress swishing behind her as she walked in. "Xavier's... it's been long. What room are we staying in?"  
"Oh, I think Kitty made sure your old room was available," said Dani, closing the door.  
Archangel retrieved the bag from Dani's hands, smiling at her. "We do need to hire a butler, like the Avengers."  
"Yes, that's going to be easy, finding a butler for a house of freaks...," said Betsy walking towards the staircase.

The face of the blonde mutant woman was obscured by the long wings of the small purple dragon. Meggan, wife to Captain Britain, did her best to remove Lockheed from her face, as she spoke through the monitor with her former teammate, Katherine Pryde.  
"Are you sure you can take care of him?" said Kitty trying not to laugh.  
"Yes... it's... no Lockheed, leave my hair! Yes... I can...," said Meggan, pulling him from her hair with her hands.  
"Good, because right now, I don't think he was having much fun here."  
"Kitty, are you alright? I never... ouch! Bad dragon! Bad dragon!" she said threateningly as Lockheed cowered. The dragon stuck his tongue out and began to fly away. "As I was saying, I never imagined you'd want to separate yourself from Lockheed."  
"Yeah, me too, but I'm feeling kinda like I need to be alone, on my own... I... I don't want anyone to depend on me," Kitty said looking down.  
"You know Brian and I will always be here for you, just call us," smiled Meggan.  
"Yeah... I know. See ya soon," said Kitty, turning off the monitor as Meggan said her goodbye.  
Rogue entered the communications room, flying under her own power. "Kitty? Who... who was that?"  
"Meggan, calling to say Lockheed arrived safely, why? Were you expecting a call?" smiled Kitty sheepishly.  
"You know very well ah am not," Rogue frowned.  
"Of course you aren't. That's why you come here running every time you hear someone's here, waiting to see if dear old Remy Lebeau calls. How long it's been since he went to New Orleans? Two weeks? Three?" said Kitty walking out.  
Rogue grabbed Kitty by the neck of her clothes, pulling her towards her. "Danger Room, five minutes."  
"Why wait?" smiled Kitty, she concentrated and both their bodies became intangible, and phased downwards. In a matter of seconds, they arrived in a vast empty chamber, the Danger Room. As they both touched the ground, Kitty turned them both tangible and Rogue released her. "So... sugah... you really wanna do this?"  
"What's wrong with you Pryde? You've been acting weird for weeks," said Rogue accusingly.  
"Did you want to meet here to chat? That's boring you know," said Kitty crossing her arms.  
"Fine. Have it your way then," said Rogue, throwing a punch.  
Kitty yawned as the punch phased through her body without causing any harm. "You versus me? There is no contest sugah..."  
Rogue flew towards Kitty, harmlessly phasing through her. "You've been acting weird ever since our powers returned, ever since we got out mutant lives back... wanna illustrate... nnghh... why?" asked Rogue, punching again at the intangible form of her friend.  
"No," Kitty replied simply. As Rogue punched her, she jumped, avoiding the punch. "What about you? Gambit's been gone for a while now, gone to New Orleans... why does that make you mad?"  
"Don't you... damn you girl stay still!" said Rogue, trying to punch Kitty as she jumped through the vast emptiness of the Danger Room. "Don't you know? Remy's gone... to take his father's place as leader of the Thieves Guild."  
"Oh... I didn't know," said Kitty surprised, standing still.  
Rogue smiled aiming a punch, but then an explosion made her turn. They both stared in silence as a gigantic explosion destroyed part of the complex behind them. Kitty gained a defensive stance as Rogue moved forward slowly. A figure walked from the wreckage a lone figure they both knew quite well.  
"Erik?" said Rogue surprised, hovering in mid-air.  
Kitty ran and threw herself at Magneto, phasing through him, hoping to disrupt his nervous system. Instead, he began glowing and convulsing. As Kitty landed and turned around, she saw the holographic image of Magneto disappear, leaving behind a small robot body.  
Rogue looked up towards the control booth where she saw "Braddock! Why did you do that!" she screamed in anger.  
"Well, neither of you deemed worthy to greet me and Warren, so I guess you deserve it," smiled Betsy, speaking through the intercom.  
"Come down here and I'll give you a proper welcome," said Rogue, clenching her fist.  
"C'mon? You really believe you can take two ninja girls like Pryde and me?" taunted Betsy through the intercom.  
"Come here and you'll see!" said Rogue defiantly.  
"Fine," smiled Betsy, disappearing as she touched the nearest shadow. She appeared behind Rogue, in the shadow cast by her. "Let's have fun then..." she said, punching Rogue from behind.

Wolverine stood still, sniffing the air, crouching atop a hill. The birds chirped as the morning unfolded. He stared towards the west, his eyes fixed as a slow breeze covered the area. He did not need to hear the faint footsteps on the grass, he knew someone was approaching.  
Warren Worthington walked towards Wolverine and stood at his side, his hands in his pockets and his wings moving gently behind him. "Nice morning, no wonder everyone is out."  
"What do you mean, everyone?" said Logan.  
"Well, there was only Dani, Rogue and Kitty on the Institute, I figured the others are out," said Warren, looking at the trollish man crouching besides him.  
"The girls and me are everyone nowadays, there are no others," said Logan simply.  
Warren looked surprised. "How? Kurt, Jean, Colossus, Ororo, weren't they here?"  
"Kurt left about a month ago, said he wanted to be a priest," said Logan, standing up slowly. "Jean is still in Muir, Beast, Colossus and Cable are with her they'll be here in a couple of days, Peter needs to start the astronaut training with the others."  
"And Ororo?" asked Warren.  
"If I'm not wrong... and I'm rarely wrong... she left us this morning."  
"Left us? Why? Where did she go?"  
"Into the West," said Logan simply.

Chapter Five


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

"There's something out there," said Cable, looking out the window, "something's not right".  
"Relax Cable, there's nothing wrong... you're just a trifle anxious to join our blatant belligerent battalion," said Beast, driving the Blackbird with his feet.  
"Join? You mean, he is not one of you?" asked young Neal Sharaa, attempting to sound less excited than he actually was.  
"Sit back and allow me to x-plain the magnificent story of the Summers clan and their related x-history," said Beast, as he started to relate the story.

Separated from the rest, Jean Grey stared into emptiness, her eyes open but not really seeing. Her mind seemed adrift, and Piotr Rasputin recognized the look on her face. She was most certainly traveling the astral plane. He unfastened his seatbelt and stood up from his seat, walking down the aisle to his friend, while Beast continued his explanation of Cable's past. Gently he placed one of his strong hands in her shoulder and whispered her name.  
Jean felt the touch of Colossus' hand and his words were like a faint whisper which slowly brought her back to reality "...al right?" she heard. Smiling she nodded.  
"Yes. I was checking on the mansion. It seems Ororo has left... I was searching for her mind, but I cannot find her," she said closing her eyes for a second and cleaning her thoughts.  
"Trouble perhaps? Should we alert Beast?" asked the young Russian, sitting on the armrest of the opposite seat.  
"No. Ororo can shield her mind from most telepaths, if she doesn't want to be found she can 'disappear' by creating a patch of ionized air close to her head. She must be on some solo business... I will speak to her when she returns about this secrecy though... she knows we could help her," Jean explained while she frowned.  
"Sometimes, we all need some time to ourselves," said Colossus wisely.

"Ok listen up!" yelled Wolverine as he entered the Danger Room. In the floor, he found Rogue caught in a headlock by Psylocke, while Kitty giggled nearby. Archangel moved behind Wolverine, trying to find out what happened, but the short X-Man stopped him. As the girls regained their composure, Warren spoke "Storm has left, we don't know why or when will she return, but I believe we need to be ready if there is trouble. As such, we should train as a team," he said.  
"Who died and made you drill sergeant?" asked Rogue, rubbing her neck and standing up straight.  
"Can it girl, I bet good old Logan can smell something coming our way," replied Psylocke.  
"He can probably smell you…" Rogue muttered, her voice barely audible.  
"I'm game luv, I love a good tussle… girls?" asked Psylocke.  
Rogue cleaned her costume, frowning "yeah yeah, let's do this so ah can kick your behind later."  
Kitty did not say a word and she began to walk towards the door. "Kitty?" asked Warren, and the youngster did not stop.  
"I don't feel like fighting anymore, I don't have much 'team spirit' right now," she replied, leaving the Danger Room.  
"What's wrong with her?" asked Archangel.  
Wolverine sniffed the air and said, "don't worry about it," a snikt echoed through the Danger Room as he spoke once more, "pumpkin, start it."

Danielle Moonstar moved the controls of the Danger Room, starting the sequence, she had been working on and as she did, the Danger Room holographic environment began to change, from cold stark metal into a strange city, which seemed empty.  
"Where are we?" asked Rogue, flying some centimeters from the ground.  
"Asgard," said Wolverine, assuming a defense position. Soon a terrible noise came from above, and they saw as a gigantic snow club destroyed the top of a building. As debris fell upon them, Psylocke used her powers to melt into the shadows with Wolverine and Archangel, as Rogue attempted to break the gigantic stones with her fists. From a nearby shadow, Psylocke and the others emerged, and Archangel spread his wings and began to fly.  
The enemy was unmistakable. A giant made entirely of ice, but his surprise was great when he saw at least a dozen giants spread through the city. "Dani, don't you think this is a trifle too much?" asked Psylocke sneering.  
"The Frost Giants would not attack the city of Asgard alone, you'll have to be creative," said the youngster's voice through the intercom.

Archangel saw as Rogue flew towards the closest Giant, hitting him in the face and forcing him to move a couple of steps backwards. He looked down and saw Wolverine using his claws on another giant's feet, while Psylocke jumped around, distracting the giant's club from him. He smiled as he saw his girlfriend in action and flapped his wings, hurling himself towards a couple of giants. He flew between them, calling their eye. The giants attempted to hit him, but he was fast and avoided the attacks. He swirled in front of one and hovered for a second, and soon he felt a change in the air, smiling he flew upwards and the club of the second giant smashed the face of the other, making it explode into millions of pieces. "Fine, but come join us," he said, flying near the observation booth for a second, soon diverting himself towards another pair of frost giants.

The bald headed man walked through the dark lit corridors of the Victorian mansion. He felt a chill through his backbone as months of preparations were about to finally come to fruition. He reached the heavy wooden door, and opened it, finding before him a man standing in the middle of the room, while he placed his hands on a woman's cheeks, who was screaming and sat on a chair with his back to him.  
"I hope I am not interrupting," said the Gamesmaster.  
Oliver Ryland, the latest host to Elias Bogan raised his head, as if he was startled. "Not really, I was just playing with Ms Niles' mind," he replied.  
The young brunette woman lowered her head, her eyes closed, tears running down from her eyes. "I can always finish later," he said, moving towards the bald man. "Let us move towards a more pleasant location, shall we?" he said smiling, walking towards a wall. He lifted his hands, and the wall opened, creating a passage to a luxurious room, which resembled a library of some sort. Bogan sat on an armchair, his eyes fixed on the Gamesmaster as he stood before him.  
"The time is ripe, the game is about to begin," he said, his eyes glowing. "The other player requested an audience."  
Bogan placed his hands before him, his elbows in the armrests, smiling, "very well."  
The Gamesmaster lifted his arms, and energy coalesced from them, creating an image between them, projecting it from his eyes. The image showed the Shadow King, smiling in the astral plane.  
"Greeting Bogan, again we meet," he said.  
"Indeed. Years have passed since our last game, I find it quite amusing we can do it again at last," Bogan replied. "To what do I owe this dubious pleasure?"  
"Confirmation. I need your word that you will pay the price when you loose."  
"You are that confident your pawn will win?" laughed Bogan.  
"Don't you?" replied the Shadow King.  
"You never change Farouk... you do have my word, as I trust I have yours, though I still don't understand the need for this meeting."  
"I found it quite unpleasant to handle our business through a third party, I always preferred to handle my affairs in person."  
"To better use those dastardly mind powers of yours, no doubt," said Bogan, separating his fingers.  
The Shadow King laughed. "My mind powers have never worked on you, this you know."  
Bogan laughed as well, tapping his forehead. "Indeed. The Gamesmaster informs me the game is seconds from unfolding. We will meet again when the game is over."  
"Prepare yourself to pay old friend," said the Shadow King, as the image faded slowly. The Gamesmaster lowered his arms, and his eyes glowed no more and he said two words, which echoed through the room. "It begins."

"Everyone strap in, we're getting closer to Westchester," said Beast, straightening himself in his seat.  
"Are you better now, Nathan?" asked Neal Sharaa, but the man known as Cable did not reply.  
Colossus fastened his seat belt, looking backwards toward Jean, and his eyes opened and he screamed "Bozhe Moi!" but it was too late. Jean's eyes flared and her hair levitated behind her and she extended her hand forward, and as she did the eyes of Colossus went blank and his organic steel covered his entire body.  
Jean Grey did not speak, did not blink, did not smile. She moved through the plane, as Colossus sat on his seat, staring blankly. Jean stopped and her eyes flared towards the cockpit, her mind racing towards the other mutants in the plane.

Dani Moonstar jumped aside to avoid being crushed by the gigantic foot of the Frost Giant. She readied herself, sending yet another psychic arrow against him, even though she knew it was futile. She needed real weapons against such monstrosities. She kicked herself mentally; why on Earth did she choose such a scenario? Without thinking, she backed down and began to search for weapons in the neighboring houses.

Rogue lifted the girder high, readying it like a gigantic baseball bat and flew towards the nearest Frost Giant. Using her vast strength, she rammed the Giant's chest, skewering him and creating a shower of ice shards. With a ferocious cry, the Frost Giant fell backwards, crashing into a gigantic building. Rogue smiled and threw the girder at the Giant's face, smashing it, preventing it from reshaping. Slowly she descended, moving towards Psylocke and standing next to her back as she jumped around a Frost Giant's feet.  
"Need help sugah? Those fancy-schmancy psychic powers of yours can't be much help against the Danger Room's constructs… can it?" she taunted with a gigantic smile.  
"Oh ye of little faith," replied Psylocke. The young ninja mutant landed behind the giant's feet, right into his shadow, and she began to sink in it, as she did she touched the nearest foot, and the giant began to fall into his own shadow. When he was halfway inside, the shadow portal disappeared, and Elisabeth Braddock appeared close by, alongside the unmoving lower half of the giant.  
Rogue did not wait and closed her fists, smashing the Giant's face into a million pieces. "Sorry, sugah, but your method is too slow for my taste," she said smugly, sounding her knuckles.  
Psylocke's eyes flashed for the shortest of seconds, and her psi-blade coalesced around her hand. Without warning, without waiting, she pierced Rogue's head with it. "Have it your way then," she said coldly.  
Rogue's eyes flashed with the same energy as Psylocke's psi-blade, and she bowed her head slightly.  
"Bring Warren down. He's next," said Elisabeth Braddock, her voice strangely profound and ominous.  
Rogue nodded and flew at her topmost speed towards Betsy's lover.

She increased the speed of the motorbike. It was as if she finally understood why Logan loved this thing so much. Katherine Pryde slowly crouched on the bike, feeling the wind on her face. She did not know why, but she just could not bear fighting alongside her teammates again, she had suffered so much recently, she was so angry at the world for taking everything away from her. The images of those she loved and lost appeared before her, and as her anger increased, so did the speed of the motorbike, racing farther away from the Institute.

"They're in the Danger Room. Destroy them," said Jean Grey, standing behind the Blackbird's driving seat, her eyes fixed on the mansion before them.  
"As you command, my queen," replied Beast, gripping the controls tightly. The X-Men's ship flew directly toward Xavier's Institute for Higher Learning, piercing the walls as if they were made of paper. Jean Grey's mind reached out, enveloping those within the Blackbird in a cocoon of telekinetic energy, changing their clothes into their costumes as she did.  
The Blackbird found its quarry and pierced the Danger Room's ceiling, and an explosion followed its arrival. Colossus was the first to land from the wreckage, his feet creating a small crater in the floor. Beast landed graciously on top of his shoulder, as Cable, Neal Sharaa and Jean Grey gently floated next to them.  
Jean Grey's eyes scanned the Danger Room, it was empty, or so it seemed. "Show yourselves. Your telepathic tricks aren't as good as mine."  
"That's what you think, luv" replied Psylocke. Suddenly, the image of Elisabeth Braddock appeared before Jean Grey's team, and, as she did, so did her teammates, surrounding them. Wolverine's claws erupted from the back of his hands, as Rogue closed her fists and Dani Moonstar prepared an arrow in her bow.  
"Perfect… let's end this game…" said Jean, extending her hand towards Psylocke, as the X-Men lunged themselves towards each other.

Chapter Six


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six 

Slowly she climbed into the ventilation system, using a low-level fog before her, examining it. She had expected lasers or some other form of security, but there was none. The thought of such a place having absolutely no security system scared her even more. It meant the house's owner had more than enough power to counter any unwanted visitor's presence. She had never met the man in battle, or even in person for that matter, but she had heard stories, and those stories chilled her to the bone. Slowly breathing she moved through the ventilation shaft, trying to keep her mind occupied on the task at hand, trying not to think about where she was. An almost forgotten thrill ran down her spine, in some level it felt good breaking into the mansion, it reminded her of her past. She continued through the shaft, shifting her body when possible, and using her winds to try not to touch the surfaces of the shaft. Somehow, being surrounded by wind helped her not to think about the confined space she was crawling through.

"Interesting," said Elias Bogan, watching a cinema-sized monitor in front of him. He watched as the X-Men clashed, his eyes fixed mostly on Jean Grey and Psylocke, who were locked in a telepathic duel. He saw Colossus trying to squash Wolverine, Angel flying away from Neal Sharra's blasts, Dani Moonstar firing her arrows to her former leader, Cable, and Beast avoiding Rogue's powerful punches. It was all out battle inside the Danger Room, and Elias Bogan was widely amused by it.

Ororo gasped. Her friends were fighting each other, she didn't know why, but she thought she had seen an eerie glow in Jean's eyes, which was widely reflected on the X-Men fighting by her side. She concentrated, trying to keep her anger in check, if a storm suddenly erupted around Bogan's mansion he would know she was around. She had kept her head locked from telepaths, making her presence invisible to them, but it would not help her if thunder broke around the mansion. She bit her lip and continued to crawl, somehow knowing her quarry was near.

"Are we ready?" asked Adrienne Frost, tightening a white glove around her left hand.

"Readier than we'll ever be," said Shaw with a smile.

"Everything rides on this, if we're unable to keep them both occupied while we steal their little prize away… we will be at their mercy," said Selene, crossing her arms.

"Enough with the worries, we covered every base, let's start shall we?" added Shaw, his eyes moving towards Blackheart.

The seven feet tall demon sat in mid-air, his legs crossed, faint eldritch energy glowing around him, as he chanted words in a long forgotten language. As he spoke, his eyes turned brightly green, glowing brightly, and a portal appeared before them, and Sebastian Shaw smiled.

"Showtime," he said sounding his knuckles.

Slowly she descended through the grate in the wall, moving like a cat in the darkness. Tessa appeared to be unconscious before her. With great speed, Ororo Munroe untied the woman before her, whispering in her ear. "I hope you are exactly what I was told you were and you haven't changed your ways in all these years."

"He saved me…" said Tessa in a whisper, "I… would never betray Charles…"

"Let's hope for the sake of all you are not lying, can you stand?" asked Ororo, helping her from her chair.

"Barely," said Tessa, lifting her head slowly, her hair finally revealing her face.

"Goddess! What happened to you?" asked Ororo in shock.

"He… tortured me…" she replied. Two long red scars were etched through her eyes, and a faint trickle of blood flowed from them. "It will heal," she said simply.

"We need to…" began Storm to speak, but a terrible loud explosion came from the next room and silenced her words.

"That might have been a trifle too much," said Sebastian Shaw, tightening his gloves as he walked out the mystic portal. The astral form of the demonic Blackheart accompanied him. "Do you really believe so?" he said, looking at the destruction. The entirety of Bogan's studio had been blown to bits by Blackheart's spell.

Amidst the debris, Shaw saw the fallen body of Bogan, and he moved towards it, lifting him from the collar of his clothes. "Hello Elias, long time no see," he said.

"Shaw… this form will die… I can easily take over yours…" said the psychic entity, attempting to leave Oliver Ryland's body and enter Shaw's. But as he did he felt a terrible pain and understood Shaw's mind was blocked.

"Ryland's body will die, but I can have a bit of fun as it does," said Shaw as he unceremoniously threw the body into the nearest wall, and moved towards it with his fists closed.

"You remind me of a young demon I used to play with, he always liked to play with dying enemies…" said Blackheart almost amused, his arms crossed as he watched Shaw savagely beat the defenseless form of Elias Bogan. "Do hurry up, we have to return to see if the X-Men are under our thumb as much as we think they are."

"Wolverine, cut him!" said Psylocke, her eyes flashing with red energy, using her mind powers to force her friend into a berserker rage.

"I will not allow that," said Jean Grey, telekinetic energy coalescing around her, forming itself into the shape of a claw, stopping Wolverine in his tracks.

"Witch!" shouted Dani Moonstar, changing the trajectory of her psychic arrow towards Jean, however Cable threw his psimitar at it, stopping it.

"Enough of this battle," said a voice erupting from the shadows. As he spoke the X-Men halted, each and everyone of them unmoving in whatever positions they were.

"You have done well my girls," said the Gamesmaster entering the Danger Room from a mystic portal. As he spoke both Psylocke and Jean Grey moved towards him and bowed, their expressions blank and lost as they sank to the floor. "This distraction was very well staged, and with both of you controlling the X-Men, we have the beginning of an army at our disposal," he said, almost in a whisper.

"Betrayed!" shouted the Shadow King in the vastness of his psychic prison, clearly enraged.

"Did you actually expect anything else, luv?" asked Adrienne Frost, her white costume glowing brightly in the darkness of the astral plane. Besides her Selene, the immortal mutant lifted her hands towards the Shadow King, and a foul energy erupted from her, enveloping the psychic creature, binding him even more to his prison.

"Sebastian?" whispered Tessa as he saw Shaw battle the unmoving man on the next room.

"We have to go, right now, we leave this place immediately. They cannot discover us," said Storm, guiding Tessa towards the nearest window.

"Yes… it's just… let's go… what will we do now?" asked Tessa, leaning on Storm, it was still hard for her to walk.

"We do what we must to save the X-Men," said Storm, listening to Shaw's laughter as he beat the body of Oliver Ryland repeatedly. Ororo did her best not to listen, and opened the window, creating a gust of wind to carry her newfound friend into the night. "But to do so we are going to need a little help," she added as the pair began to fly.


End file.
